Teams whose odds could improve

Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesNick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide have good value right now at 6-1 to win the national title.

When’s the last time you could actually get value on Alabama as a national title contender? Been a while, right?

Creeping uncertainty after the Sugar Bowl and at the quarterback position makes the Tide, currently 6-1 to win the 2014 national title according to Bovada, a decent bet. Now, 6-1 isn’t exactly going to set you up for life, but for Alabama it isn’t too shabby.

Better act fast, though. That number could drop by August if, say, Jacob Coker comes in during preseason camp and wows. Would you be even a little surprised if that 6-1 shrank to 3-1 by sometime in October?

With Alabama leading the way, here is a look at teams that could see their title odds improve by the fall.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Travis Haney

Travis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.

A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.

Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.